"White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack," by Peggy McIntosh

Peggy McIntosh is a member of Women's Studies, a group of women whose role she describes as to "work to reveal male privilege and ask men to give up some of their power." In White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, McIntosh describes white privilege and advantages as an invisible package of unearned assets. She begins by making a comparison between the relationship between men and women in terms of privilege. McIntosh mentions that women are disadvantaged, while men are advantaged, and that although men are able to acknowledge women's disadvantages, men are not able to acknowledge their advantages and privileges. She continues by stating that the denial to refuse men privilege protects their advantages from being lesser or ended.

It seem a little odd to me, the idea that those who are advantaged should become equal to those who are disadvantaged by lessening or ending their advantages. Why not create equality by setting disadvantages individuals at the same level as those who are advantage (in terms of privileges) instead?

As the article continues, McIntosh presents another point. She compares men privilege to white privilege. She states that White privilege is "unearned," and has several advantages over people of different races, who are not white.

Ultimately, McIntosh concludes that White individuals, like her self, where raised with certain privileges that were unknown to them. She implies that racism is not only shown through acts of meanness by her group, but also through an invisible system that grants unacknowledged racial dominance on Whites since birth.

After reading her complete analogy, I began to rethink my question. Maybe there IS a need to end certain "unearned" privileges to bring equality between men and women, such as there may be a need to end certain racial privileges to end racism.